 Review By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Bethesda Softworks |
| Publisher: | Bethesda Softworks / 2K | |
| Genre: | RPG | |
| ESRB: | Mature | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Includes the base game, Shivering Isles expansion pack, and Knights of the Nine | |
| Buy Now: |   |
I’ve been a gamer for the vast majority of my life, and during that time there’s no non-MMO I’ve spent more time with than The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. After spending about 180 hours in the original game on Xbox 360, I played through the Shivering Isles expansion pack and all of the important stuff again in the PS3 version that also includes Knights of the Nine. That doesn’t even include the scads of downloadable content, which I haven’t reviewed simply due to a lack of time. All of this is important because despite that, I still had a great time with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition on PS3.
The GOTY edition includes the three main primary parts of the Oblivion experience: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, expansion pack Shivering Isles, and the largest piece of downloadable content Knights of the Nine. My only real complaint with this version lies in the fact that this seems a little thin for a Game of the Year edition. While this does mimic what Bethesda did with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on Xbox and PC, with the GOTY version including expansion packs Bloodmoon and Tribunal, on Xbox both of those expansion packs were new to the console. Here, only Shivering Isles was new to the console in this release, as Knights of the Nine was included with the PS3 port of the base game, and not long after this version was released Bethesda also made Shivering Isles available both at retail and on the PlayStation Store as well. So realistically, owners of the original Oblivion disc for PS3 now have absolutely no reason to buy this version, and should feel ripped off if they didn’t wait for the standalone version of Shivering Isles. To make matters worse, the game’s vast amount of downloadable content found on both Xbox 360 and PC is still not available on PS3. With Oblivion DLC still nowhere to be found on the PlayStation Store as of press time, throwing some DLC on this Blu-ray disc would’ve added a lot of value to this version.
As for the game itself though, Oblivion is still one of the best RPGs (if not the best) of this current console generation. The PS3 port of the base game brought with it sharper graphics, faster load times, and a farther draw distance than that found on Xbox 360, and that’s still true here. Like other games in the series before it, Oblivion is essentially a single-player MMO. The game starts out with your character in prison, soon to be met by a fleeing Emperor that just happens to need to use the escape route hidden in your cell. He immediately points you out as a person of destiny, and the guards allow you to escape with them. The sewer area that follows serves as a tutorial, and customizes your character’s initial attributes based on how you handle it. Naturally you aren’t forced to stick with the choices the game makes for you, and can build a custom character completely from scratch to best suit the style of play you wish to use.
After you make your final decisions and exit the initial dungeon, you’re completely on your own. Choose to follow the main quest, or go in a completely different direction and explore wherever you please. It’s all up to you. Oblivion is not about following some pre-determined path to save the princess or defeat an ultimate evil (although you certainly get to fight plenty of that). Instead, it’s about forging your own destiny in the engrossing world Bethesda has built for you to play in. Many games have followed this design model in the past, but very few in the RPG genre. More importantly, you’ll have fun regardless of what you choose to do, as virtually any career path is a viable one.
Most of your quests will come from the various guilds and factions scattered throughout the land, although you’ll also run into random citizens that need things done for them as well. Join the Fighters Guild and beat people up, join the Mages Guild and help advance the study of the supernatural, or even join the Thieves Guild and rob people for the good of your own guild. There are also other “unofficial” groups scattered throughout the land, including vampire hunters, orders of knights, and even the murderous Dark Brotherhood.
While some of the quests are fairly standard RPG fare, most of them have enough interesting twists and turns to keep the game moving along at a brisk pace. Each guild has its own subplots, political maneuverings, backstabbing, and in-fighting that you’ll eventually (should you choose to participate) play a key role in. Along the way you’ll be manipulated, lied to, and even do a bit of your own trickery to advance your rank in each faction.
Of course, no discussion of the quests in Oblivion would be complete without mentioning the Knights of the Nine quest included in this version. This quest adds roughly 10 hours to the game, a new faction, new armor and powers, etc. It starts out slowly since you’re first required to travel to a shrine for each of the Nine Divines to prove your worth and devotion (especially if you do it right away and have few waypoints on your map to fast travel to like I did), after the first few hours it becomes an enjoyable addition. In particular, the final sequence of events is very enjoyable, and a good payoff for following it through to the end. Like the rest of the game the difficulty moves with you as you advance in level, so even my relatively low level character had no trouble completing the quest.
One thing I don’t like about the implementation of the Knights of the Nine quest in the PS3 version is how the game bludgeons you over the head with it until you finally start it. Practically from the moment you step foot into any town, you’ll see dialog options pointing you in the direction of the quest. On Xbox 360 and PC this is understandable, since you just paid $10 for it and probably want to start on it right away. With it integrated into the GOTY version though, it could’ve been introduced to the player in a much more tactful manner without seeming out of place. It’s a small complaint, but it definitely bugged me.
Posted: 2008-01-15 20:25:09 PST